


Sanctuary

by seijurossimp



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst, Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers, Fluff, M/M, Manga & Anime, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-23 11:55:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30055110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seijurossimp/pseuds/seijurossimp
Summary: Laxus Dreyar is realizing things, but Freed is already over him. Or is he?
Relationships: Bickslow & Evergreen & Freed Justine, Evergreen/Elfman Strauss, Fraxus - Relationship, Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser, Laxus Dreyar/Freed Justine, Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia
Comments: 9
Kudos: 22





	1. Frustration

It was another beautiful day in Magnolia. The sun was shining and the famous Fairy Tail guild hall was as rowdy as ever. The guild members were eating, drinking, and laughing to their heart's content. It had been almost a year and a half since the battle with Alavarez and there was finally some sense of peace in the world. Inside the Fairy Tail guild hall, Natsu and Lucy were having a meal together.

“Ugh, I’ve been having really bad writer's block lately” Lucy groans.

“Why don’t you try writing a side story and take a break from your novel? It might help you clear your head.” Natsu says carelessly, as he’s about to stuff his face. 

Lucy stares blankly at him, “That… is actually a really good idea Natsu! I can’t believe you just had one of those.” Natsu is too distracted by his meal to register the jab at his intelligence. 

Lucy scans the guild looking for inspiration. Suddenly the guildhall doors slam open. In the opening, the powerful presence of the Thunder Legion takes place and the guild goes silent. “Bingo” Lucy says under her breath. 

The Thunder Legion starts walking into the guild and slowly everyone goes back to what they were doing. “Hey Laxus, come over here! Let's battle it out and-” Natsu yells while still chewing his food. 

“Doesn’t he ever get tired of getting punched in the face?” Evergreen groans.

“You’ve gotta admire his persistence” Bickslow chuckles.

As they make their way to an empty table, ignoring Natsu, Lucy runs up to the team, “Hey! How’d the job g-”. She stops once she notices the tension between the two members who haven’t said a word since they walked in.

“It was fine.” Laxus replies, “Do you need something?” There was an awkwardness in the air. 

“You know… nevermind I think my writer’s block has been all cleared up” Lucy says as she backs away nervously. She makes her way back to the table. 

“What happened? Did you get the writing material you wanted?” Natsu asks. 

“Not quite. Something’s up with Freed and Laxus. It’s so weird I feel like they have always been in sync, but the tension between them has been so hostile lately. I wonder what happened” Lucy explains, still eyeing the Thunder Legion’s table.

At the Thunder Legion’s table Freed finally broke the silence, “You didn’t have to be so rude, Laxus.” 

“How was that being rude??” Laxus snaps back. 

Freed scoffs and rolls his eyes. 

“You have had a bad attitude the whole way back, Freed. What the hell is your problem?”

The two of them glare at each other. 

“You want to know what my problem is?!”Freed stands up as if he’s about to yell at Laxus, then stops. He notices some of the other guild members staring. His shoulders relax, he takes in a deep breath, “Nothing. I’m going for a walk.” he gets out of his seat and walks away from the group. 

Laxus rubs his eyebrows and lets out a heavy sigh, “I need a drink.” He gets up and walks to the bar. 

“Mira, give me a pint.” 

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asks as she pours Laxus some beer.

“Maybe after a drink… or five.” he replies without looking up from the counter. 

Still at the table, Evergreen and Bickslow are left alone with the lingering tension. “We should talk to them. They’re both too stubborn and dumb to clear this up on their own” says Evergreen. 

“Yeah, I’ll talk to Freed. You take Laxus. Let him have a drink or two first though” Bickslow responds. The two of them get up from the table and make their separate ways. 

Bickslow starts walking outside of the guild and finds Freed looking out toward the sea, leaning over the terrace. His chin was resting in the palm of his hand. They both stood there for a minute embracing the cool evening breeze after a long day. 

Bickslow sighs, “You should know better than to keep your feelings bottled up, Freed.” 

Freed doesn’t bother turning to look at Bickslow. There’s a long pause before he responds. 

“Why doesn’t he trust us?” 

Bickslow quickly looks at Freed’s face and sees his expression had turned from angry to almost heartbroken. 

“What do you mean? Of course Laxus trusts us. Why would you say something like that?” Bickslow responds. 

“Then why does he feel the need to take on all of the heavy burden with every job we do? He did it when we faced Tartaros, Alvarez, and again in this job.” says Freed “I tried helping him out and he pushed me away. Instead, he struggled and almost got himself really hurt.” 

“That’s not because he doesn’t trust us and deep down you know that. Are you sure that’s the real reason you’re mad at him?” Bickslow asks. 

Freed turns to face him, “Yes it is. It’s like he questions my capability to protect him. And don’t look at me like that. I've resolved my feelings for Laxus. That’s in the past.”

Bickslow stares him down, “Just like that?” 

“Just like that.” Freed responds. He turns back to the sea but Bickslow is still looking at him with sharp eyes. 

“You never told him how you felt though, how could your feelings be resolved?” Bickslow questions. 

“There’s nothing to tell. My feelings were childish. Simple admiration for him. As soon as I realized that, I was able to focus on becoming a stronger wizard for the Thunder Legion. Laxus and I will always be good friends.” Freed glanced inside the guild to see Laxus smiling and laughing at the bar with Mirajane, “You said it yourself, he’s not in my league. He’d be better off with someone else.” 

“Ah jeez Freed, I didn’t mean anything by that. I was just joking and Laxus does believe in you! He always has.” says Bickslow, feeling guilty. 

Freed turns back to Bickslow and a soft smile emerges on his face, “I know, I’m teasing you. Thanks for the talk Bickslow. You and Ever don’t have to worry, I’ll be fine by tomorrow.” Freed makes his way back into the guild hall and heads home to call it a night.

After taking a bath, Freed laid in his bed and stared at the ceiling getting lost in his thoughts. He remembered seeing Laxus and Mira having a picnic in the woods, then their expressions at the bar earlier. He meant it when he said his feelings for Laxus were resolved. If anything, he was happy that Laxus found someone like Mirajane. Freed trusts Mira. She was the one who saved him from himself during the battle of Fairy Tail, and taught him to open his heart to the rest of the guild. Not to mention she's drop dead gorgeous. Maybe she understands Laxus better than he can. They would be good for each other. 

Freed shakes his head wondering why he’s even thinking about all of that. It was clear his feelings were one-sided. As soon as he came to terms with that he was able to spend more time focusing on his magic. Everything will blow over by tomorrow, and the team will find another job to go on by the next day.

****

Laxus chugs one last pint of beer, pays his tab, then makes his way out. He walks outside and feels the cold breeze on his face almost sobering him up. “I would think you had a better handle on your emotions, Laxus.” 

Laxus turns around to see Gray Fullbuster standing behind him. “Look who finally decided to wear some clothes” he quips, clearly buzzed. 

“Very funny. Shouldn’t you be clearing up the situation with Freed instead of getting drunk?” Gray shoots back. 

“Freed and I are just fine” Laxus replies. 

“Sure. That’s why he almost blew up on you earlier and you’re here getting wasted alone. It doesn’t take an idiot to see the bad tension between the two of you lately” Gray says concerned. 

“Oh, really? Who are you to tell me how I should communicate with my teammates?” Laxus shoots back angrily. 

“Take it from me Laxus, if you keep avoiding the conversation the two of you need to have, it’ll be too late.” Laxus and Gray stare at each other for a while.

Laxus scoffs, “Whatever. Isn’t Juvia waiting for you? She might get jealous if she sees you out here talking to me.” 

Gray walks past Laxus, but before he makes his way into the guild he says, “Life is too short to be holding back” then walks in. 

Laxus hesitates, he looks up at the crescent moon shining through the night. He sighs, “What the hell does he know?” then walks home.

****

The next morning, Laxus goes down to the kitchen and sits at one of the barstools while rubbing his eyes and temples. It was clear he was pretty hungover. He hears a mug slide in front of him and the sudden smell of coffee causes his eyes to widen. He looks up from the mug to see Freed standing there with his own cup in his hand, “Goodmorning” Freed says to him while sliding the other mug towards Laxus. 

“Morning” Laxus responds, accepting the simple peace offering. They sat and drank their coffee together and carried on as if yesterday never happened. 

Bickslow and Ever come downstairs soon after. They pause before entering the kitchen, “Looks like our conversations really did help.” says Bickslow. They watch Freed and Laxus laughing about something that happened on their last job. 

“About that…” Evergreen says under her breath. 

“You did talk to him didn’t you?” Bickslow presses. 

Evergreen smiles at him nervously, “heh well he was already talking to Mira and I might have gotten distracted helping Juvia get ready for a date...” 

Bickslow gives her an annoyed look before easing up, “I guess we’re lucky Freed is mature enough for the both of them.” 

“I am glad to see him smiling again,” Evergreen chimes, “He seemed to be more serious lately, it had me worried about him.” 

“I think since he officially became an S-class wizard he wanted to get stronger and more serious about his skills,” Bickslow explains. 

Evergreen laughs, “Freed is as serious as they come. I guess I worried because he was acting distant towards all of us for a minute, not just Laxus.”

Bickslow grabs Evergreen into a chokehold. “Look at you not thinking about yourself for once!” he teases, “Come help me make pancakes I need your help with planning something.” After Evergreen fights free from Bickslow’s chokehold, the two of them cook pancakes and have breakfast with Freed and Laxus.  
****

Around noon, the team arrived at the guildhall and began to enjoy their time off. Bickslow and Laxus were chatting it up at the bar with Makarov and Mirajane, Evergreen was having lunch with Elfman, and Freed was back at the bulletin board looking for their next job. He was having a hard time choosing what would be best to help the Thunder Legion improve when suddenly one caught his eye. 

The flyer read, “URGENT: THE CITY OF MOONLIGHT NEEDS HELP! GANG MEMBERS ARE TERRORIZING OUR STREETS!” 

Freed grabbed the flyer from the board and made his way to the bar. 

Laxus sees him walking towards them and yells out, “Hey Freed! Find our next job already?” 

“I believe so,” replies Freed, “I think I’ve found the perfect job actually. It's something I think will actually challenge us. We should leave tomorrow morning.” 

Bickslow shoots a look at Evergreen as if cueing her to say, “Wait, tomorrow?” 

“Is that a problem for you?” Laxus responds. 

Evergreen looks a little flushed before saying, “Well.. you see I already made plans to spend the week with Elfman. It’s been so long since we got to spend some alone time together.” 

“Yeah.. I don’t think I can go on this job either you guys.. I promised my girl I’d take her out somewhere special.” 

Freed and Laxus give each other blank stares. The atmosphere between the team quickly got quiet. “Wait, you and Elfman are official now?” Laxus asks Evergreen. 

“I mean I thought it was pretty obvious..” she replies. 

Freed turns over to Bickslow, “Your girl?! Who are you dating??” 

Bickslow smiles mischievously, “Sorry buddy, I don’t kiss and tell.” 

Freed looks down at the job flyer, “Well I guess we don’t have to go on a job right now” he says with a disappointed look on his face “I’ll put the flyer back on the board.” 

“Wait!” Bickslow yells, stopping Freed in his tracks. “Why don’t you and Laxus just go on the job together?” he suggests “It’ll be like one-on-one S-class training for you Freed, since Laxus has more experience.” 

Laxus and Freed look at each other for a minute. “I think that’ll be good. It can help prepare you for solo S-class jobs” offers Laxus. 

Freed is hesitant. Going on a job alone with Laxus after they just resolved their argument from the last job? It might be too soon to be alone together. But he really does want to train for solo jobs. 

“Alright, we’ll leave tomorrow morning. Pack tonight so we don’t waste any time tomorrow. It takes several days to get to Moonlight according to the map of Fiore” Freed ordered.

“Aye aye captain!” Laxus smirked, causing Freed to involuntarily blush.

In the morning, Bickslow and Ever watched as Freed and Laxus gathered their belongings and left for Moonlight. The two of them leave for their job, waving goodbye to Ever and Bickslow. 

“Wow, I can’t believe that actually worked!” says Evergreen. 

Bickslow laughs, “Right? I for sure thought they were going to fight it a little bit more. Maybe they subconsciously wanted to go on this job alone together.” 

“So who are you dating, Bickslow?” Evergreen asks.

“Wouldn’t you like to know” Bickslow smiles.

“... yes… that’s why I asked” replied Ever, confused. 

“Hey!” 

Bickslow and Evergreen jump out of their seats. 

Behind them stood Makarov with a worried look on his face, “Did Laxus say he was going to Moonlight?” 

“Yeah. He and Freed went to do some one-on-one S-class training” answers Bickslow.

“Oh.. okay as long as he didn’t go alone” says Makarov, relief instantly washing over his face.

“You looked really worried for a second, why were you asking?” Evergreen questions. 

Makarov motions for the two of them to sit down, “You see, Moonlight is uncharted territory in Fiore. It was only recently discovered, so even the Magic Council does not know much about it. There are no signals of magic being given off and it's as if it just randomly emerged from the ground fully inhabited.”

Bickslow and Evergreen look at each other with concern for their friends. 

“But Laxus and Freed are some of our strongest wizards, I have no doubt they will be able handle anything thrown their way.” he reassures. 

The two ease up a bit, “You’re right. Together Freed and Laxus are unstoppable. I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about” says Evergreen.


	2. Tension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They walk. They chat. It rains. 
> 
> "Why was everything Laxus wore so... fitted."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all who read the first chapter! 
> 
> Chapter 1 was a bit of a slow one I know haha. I kind of needed it to set the stage for the rest of the story so that the other chapters could be filled with more angst.
> 
> So for this chapter I actually decided to split it into two parts. As I was writing it it just seemed like too much was happening and it got lengthy. Splitting it made this and the next chapter shorter but hopefully the pace of it a little better.
> 
> Anyways thank you all again for reading this! I hope to make us Fraxus shippers proud!

More than half the day had gone by, Freed and Laxus found themselves traveling through the woods. As they continued walking down the path, Freed couldn’t help but feel awkward. This was the only job they’d gone on together completely alone. They barely spoke two words to each other the whole day. They had partnered off on jobs before, but Bickslow and Ever were always there to fill the silence during the trip.

Out of the Thunder Legion, Freed and Laxus were seen as the closest ones to each other. Freed was Laxus’ right hand man. They understood each other well in and out of the battlefield. No matter what, they always had each other’s backs. There was a mutual understanding when it came to the battles. The guild, their family, came first. To Freed, the Thunder Legion and Laxus were his family. So Freed was pretty upset after facing Tartaros. He recalls how Laxus immediately inhaled those bane particles to save everyone without thinking of the consequences. It really upset him. He always does that though. Jumping head first to save everyone without thinking about how Freed would feel if something had happened to him. Then, he tried to hide the fact that the particles were still in his system and were slowly killing him. Freed could feel his anger stir up in him again.

Why would he care about what Freed thought? It’s not like Freed and Laxus were together. He _did_ trust Freed’s spell to cure him though.

Then why did they feel so distant from each other? All of their conflicts were resolved, but they have been getting into more petty arguments than before. Was Freed using it as some sort of defense mechanism to hide his feelings?

_What feelings?!_

“Freed? Did you hear me?” Laxus snaps Freed out of his thoughts.

“Sorry, what?”

“I said it's getting dark. We should set up camp for the night.”

“Right. Let’s find a good place, then I’ll start dinner.”

They walked further along the path when they saw an empty cave nearby. Laxus gathered materials for a fire and Freed prepared dinner for the two of them. He served Laxus then himself. He took a seat on the ground next to Laxus. The two of them ate their dinner in front of the fire. There was a warm atmosphere inside the cave, almost romantic.

Freed’s thoughts from before still lingered in the back of his mind. He never told Laxus about how he felt because it was clear to him Laxus never felt the same way. He did try to make some advances after the grand magic games, and even scrubbed his back during their baths as an attempt to get more intimate. Laxus was clueless sometimes but not _that_ clueless.

“How did you get so damn good at cooking, Freed?” Laxus asks, breaking the silence.

Freed shakes off his thoughts again and laughs, “It took a lot of practice. Growing up I had to cook for myself.”

“Why is that? You’ve never told me about your childhood, you know that?” Laxus pressed.

“Yeah well.. It’s not something I really like talking about” Freed responds. He picks up his and Laxus’ plates and moves them aside. “When I was younger, it was just me and my mother. I’ve never met my father. Whenever I asked about him, she immediately changed the subject as if she was avoiding something. My mother taught me everything she knew about taking care of oneself. I guess she was the reason I learned how to cook and have the habit of acting like a parent to Bickslow and Ever” he lets out a small chuckle.

“Where is your mother now?” Laxus asks.

“Around the time I turned fourteen, she got sick. There was nothing the healers could do…” he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck, “...and she ended up passing away a few months later”

“I’m sorry,” Laxus says.

He looked into Freed’s eyes. He never noticed how much they resembled the sea until he saw how the fire reflected in them. Laxus lifts his hand as if he was about to touch Freed’s face when the fire made a loud _CRACK_ , snapping him out of it. He retracted his hand back to the ground beside him. Freed quickly turned the other way hoping to hide the flush of heat that had taken over his face.

“It's okay. It's in the past. I loved my mom and she taught me a lot. I learned how to use magic soon after, and supported myself until I joined Fairy Tail and met Bickslow, Ever,” Freed paused and looked back into Laxus’ eyes. His face still had a hint of pink on it, “and _you_.”

Laxus’ mouth went dry and felt his ears grow hot. He had the urge to tell Freed something.

Something important.

_What was it?_

“Freed, I-”

“We should probably turn in for the night.” Freed interrupted, “We have to get an early start tomorrow” He took his jacket off and placed his sword against the cave wall, then moved over to his sleeping bag and got ready for bed.

Laxus stayed by the fire for a bit before putting it out. He moved over to the edge of the cave and sat against the wall. He looked out at the night sky, then back at Freed who seemed to be fast asleep.

How did he go all this time not knowing about Freed’s past? He didn’t realize how tragic it was. How much Freed went through during his childhood. All he wanted to do in that moment was comfort Freed, but he didn’t know how.

Why did he have this sudden urge to hold him close and never let him out of his arms? And was it really sudden? Laxus didn’t do stuff like that. He was never the type to comfort or console others. But it was Freed, and Freed was different.

Laxus had no understanding what was going on through his own head. There was no way he could address what Gray said back at the guild. He leaned his head back onto the cave wall, pointing his chin towards the roof of it and let out a heavy sigh.

He never forgot about the way he treated Freed during the Battle of Fairy Tail. There is nothing he regrets more than that day. The things he said to Freed, the things he made him do out of selfish reasons, were disgusting. Freed deserved better than someone who once used him for a power grab. Sure, Laxus had changed, _a lot_. But was he really good enough for Freed Justine?

Laxus let out another heavy sigh, he pulled his head down, still against the cave wall, and slowly fell asleep.

The next morning the two of them cleaned up their camp and continued their journey to Moonlight. As they were walking Laxus asked, “Have we ever been to this town? Moonlight?”

“No, we haven’t,” Freed replied, “I don't even think I’ve heard of it before. I thought it would be a good place to explore and train. And I was really drawn to the flyer.”

“You do tend to have a good judgement when picking jobs” Laxus compliments.

“Well, I am the smartest one in the Thunder Legion after all” Freed teases, throwing Laxus a cute grin. The both of them share a laugh and continue to walk the path in the woods.

 _Ahh that smile_. Laxus really liked Freed’s smile.

****

Rain clouds started to form in the sky, “It looks like it’s going to rain,” Laxus points out. “We’d better get to the nearest town for shelter.”

“We’re almost out of the woods. There should be a place nearby” Freed responds.

Soon, the rain started pouring. Hard.

The two of them did not come prepared for a storm like this. They quickly ran through the woods and saw a town up ahead. Once they arrived into town, they found a small inn they could stay at to wait out the storm. They paid the innkeeper and walked down the hall before entering the room. Freed pushed the door open and they both stepped in. They immediately threw their belongings on the floor, then noticed something about the room.

The room only had one bed.

“I- I’m gonna ask the innkeeper if we can get another room,” Freed says nervously. As he’s about to head out the door, Laxus slams his hand on the door frame, using his bicep to block him from leaving.

“It’s fine. She said this was their last room. Don’t worry, I’ll take the couch” says Laxus “I’m going to shower first. We gotta get out of these soaked clothes.”

“Right..” Freed squeaked, trying to calm his racing heartbeat.

Laxus goes into the bathroom to shower and Freed begins to unpack. He starts taking off the wet clothes and hangs them to dry in the room. He felt a bit cold from the rain so he decided to turn the fireplace on. He then laid on the bed waiting for the shower to be free.

Boy did he feel exhausted. He could not wait to get in the shower himself to wash away the freezing and tired feeling from the rain.

Soon after, Laxus comes out of the bathroom. His bright blonde hair was still wet and slicked back, water still sliding down his face from his hairline. Freed watched as he walked out with only a towel around his waist. Of course the towel was regular size, but Laxus’ physique made everything seem so… _small_. He couldn’t help but stare at the water droplets trickling down Laxus’ back. Each drop was weaving through his muscles, slowly working their way down the lower half of his body.

_Dear God, it’s like he’s glowing._

All of a sudden, Freed felt a flash of heat fill his face, and somewhere else too. He sprung up from the bed, stumbling over his own feet. He was about to trip face first into the ground, when Laxus grabbed him by his arms and saved him from falling over. He pulled Freed up to his chest, one hand wrapped around his bicep and the other holding him from his back. Their faces were inches apart from one another. Laxus’ bare body was hot from the shower and Freed could feel his burning hands warm up his chilled back, sending shivers down his spine.

“Freed you…” Laxus finally let out, sounding breathless.

Freed and Laxus’ faces slowly move toward each other. Heavy breaths filled the small space between them. Laxus looked down to Freed’s lips. Freed’s nose, which was bright pink from the cold, then slowly trailed his stare back to Freed’s sea green eyes.

Freed was like putty in Laxus’ arms. He then felt Laxus push him away, clearing his throat, “...you should be more careful.” He quickly turned around and rummaged through his bags as if nothing happened.

Freed stood there dumbfounded, “Y-you’re right, sorry about that. I’m going to shower now...” he stuttered. Freed walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

_What the hell was that?!?_

He goes over to the mirror to see his whole face burning red.

 _Was he about to kiss me?!_ Freed thinks to himself. _No.. no way. Get a hold of yourself Freed. Those feelings are in the past. Focus on the job at hand. You’re just here to wait out a storm._

He turns the shower on and his tense muscles start to relax. He slapped his face with his palms, trying his best to get rid of the obvious blush on his cheeks. The warm water flooded his long green hair and he let out a deep breath as if he was holding it in for the past 5 hours. He gets out of the shower and sees one robe hanging in the bathroom. Laxus must have left it for him to use. A glimpse of laxus wearing the small robe passed through Freed’s thoughts before shaking it off.

The robe was somewhat loose to where there was a V-shaped slit showing Freed’s bare chest. He walked out of the bathroom, and saw Laxus sitting by the fireplace in a t-shirt and sweatpants.

He gulped. Why was every piece of clothing Laxus owned so… _fitted_.

Freed walked over to his bags. He searched through it before pulling out a small wooden hairbrush. He was about to run the brush through his green locks when he heard Laxus walk up to him and say, “Let me do it.”

Freed looked up at him with wide eyes, “You- you wanna brush my hair?”

The two of them stood in front of each other in silence for a moment. Laxus was acting strange and Freed took notice.

“Yeah,” Laxus responded, “I’ve always really liked your hair” Freed feels another flash of heat run by his face.

Laxus takes the brush from Freed’s hand and they sit on the bed. He started brushing Freed’s hair. Starting from the top, Laxus brushed all the way to the bottom in slow strokes. The brush felt soothing on Freed’s scalp. He never had anyone do something like this for him. It was nice.

Laxus set the hairbrush down and started combing through Freed’s hair with his fingers. “Your hair is so soft,” he says.

“Thanks...” replied Freed. He moved his knees to his chest and tried to bury his head into them.

This is so _embarrassing_. Why did Laxus want to comb his hair all of a sudden? Freed was always the one to do things for Laxus, so it seems pretty out of character for him to be doing this.

As Laxus reached for more hair to comb through, he saw the back of Freed’s neck and hesitated. Freed’s robe had slipped off when he changed his position, and part of his shoulder was exposed.

His back had more of a slim muscular build compared to Laxus’. Still, it was enough to know Freed had a nice body. Laxus slightly brushed Freed’s neck while combing through the bottom layer of his hair. His warm fingertips sent a shock to Freed’s damp body. He flinched and instantly felt his whole body burn up.

He quickly slapped Laxus’ hand away from his hair, “okay I think we’re done now. I’m gonna put some clothes on.” He gets off the bed and grabs his clothes, almost tripping on his way. “We should go somewhere and eat dinner. I’ll go ask the innkeeper if there are any places open right now.” Freed walked into the bathroom to get dressed, then left the room before Laxus had the chance to respond.

Laxus sat there in silence for a minute before looking at his hand. He could still feel the slight sting from Freed slapping it away.

He’s finding it harder for him to hold himself back. He just wants to get closer to Freed. Closer than they already are. He can’t really explain why.

No. He couldn’t do that to Freed. He can’t be selfish with him. The last thing Laxus wanted to do is hold Freed back from reaching his true potential.

He buried his face in his hands and realized they smelled like the shampoo from Freed’s hair. The scent triggered a warm sensation for Laxus. The feelings of home. Of comfort.

_“What the hell am I doing?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeez Laxus, you're a grown man who can't figure out what's going on in your mind? What was all that character development for?!?
> 
> HAHA jk jk
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I am a sucker for the romcom rain scenes and could you just imagine Freed and Laxus soaked from the rain >.< Ugh I love them.
> 
> Stay tuned for Chapter 3:  
> Rejection, Whiskey, Dancing, and uh oh..


End file.
